How to move mountains – eCommerce & eMarketing strategy for success!

I admit it. I’m a 98% guy. I believe the extra 2% can take 98% of your time. I’m never certain that the extra effort delivers the equivalent reward.

There is one area, however, where I feel you can never do too much.

Participation.

Whether it’s a blog, social media site, Twitter, school or volunteering at the local non profit, participation can, and should, be considered as the best “return on effort” for any company or individual.

Whatever your goal; online, offline, business or personal, getting involved will always give back more than it takes.

Creating cool designs that provide ‘neat’ eye candy and little substance appear to be the norm for many creative agencies. Flash design is somewhat passé and almost certainly viewed as an obstruction by many users seeking their holy grail; information.

Usability has been a buzzword mostly centered on design elements, their colors, placement, size, shape and repetition. Fortunately, a few designers, strategists andthought leaders on the forward edge of the development curve have come to the realization that usability is as much about (or even more about) experience rather than design.

Expectations need to be met. Interactions need to have a purpose. Steps and pathways need to be meaningful. And most important, the experience needs to be intuitive, sometimes entertaining, relevant, fulfilling, and deliver to the needs of the user.

When looking at the naissance of a web presence, plan using experience as your guide by looking at interactions, goals, relevance, and delivery to, or above, expectation.

Once that plan is in place then consider how the design and usability can support and enhance the ‘experiential process.’

I love reviewing good design and then moving on. Good experience I’ll stick around for.

Quickly… what’s the most important component of Search Engine Optimization.

psst. look in the post title while Alex Trebek isn’t looking!

Answer… content!

I just wrote a 9 page detailed site analysis report only to throw it away and draw up a one page recommendation. In fact it only had four sentences.

“To improve your search engine rankings I recommend you first empty your site of all content. Next, I recommend you find out what makes you special, your ‘secret sauce’. Next, I recommend you find a damn good copywriter to put it into words that educate and inspire. Finally, call me.”

Now this may seem a little harsh, I want the business after all, and to be 100% honest, I sent this cover note with the 9 page report attached (I’m not that crazy!)

The point I was making (and actually made – the prospect called me back) is that search engine optimization is not about putting lipstick on a pig and calling it Paris Hilton (although the resemblance is quite close), you have to communicate your message, your focus and your reason I, as a user, should care.

Content will always be king, not just for the search engines, but most importantly for your users, prospects and customers.

Remember not to build a virtual castle on virtual quicksand by spending time and money on something that will never work.

Finally… remember that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a pig with makeup.